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NA & Mutual Aid

NA and Mutual Aid

Narcotics Anonymous is a community of people who support each other to achieve and maintain a drug free life. The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop using drugs. There are no membership fees in NA, and each group is self supporting. NA is not allied with any religion, institution or other organisation. NA exists solely that its members can support each other to stay drug free and to help others achieve and maintain a drug free recovery and lifestyle.

In NA we are not concerned about what drugs people may have used, what they have done in the past or what their personal status might be, we are only interested in what they might want to do to change their life and how we can help. Addiction cuts across all segments of society and age groups and affects people in differing ways. In the beginning many who come to our meetings think they are different and will not belong, but on attending meetings and hearing others talk about their experiences they realise how similar these are to their own.

NA is what is currently referred to in the UK as a Mutual Aid organisation, NA helps addicts to stop taking drugs, get well and change the quality of their lives. We mutually help each other, we consider those that are new to NA to be the most important people in our meetings because we have learnt that helping others is a gift that reinforces our motivation and desire to stay drug free

NA offers support for life – it is a community of people who have overcome their drug problem, and who are freely available to help those who also have the desire to live life drug free. It costs nothing to be a NA member, you are a member of NA when you say you are, there are no waiting lists for NA if you want to attend a meeting just show up. Currently there are about 1,000 NA meetings taking place each week in the UK alone.

It’s free and yet we don’t seek or take funding from anyone. NA is not a commercial enterprise, at the end of each meeting those attending are free to contribute voluntarily towards the cost of holding the meeting, the money is used to cover the cost of tea, coffee, NA literature and the rental of the room. No one is ever required or forced to contribute financially, our ethos is if you have it and can contribute great if you don’t that’s OK, don’t worry about it. Our aim is simply to break even and cover our expenses, no one gets paid for facilitating a NA meeting.

NA is not a religious organisation, nor does it discriminate against anyone holding religious, spiritual or secular views, you are free to believe, or not believe anything you want. Though some of our meetings are held in church halls it s simply because they are available, amenable and affordable to NA, we have no affiliation with any of these establishments we simply rent a room from them as do many other community organisations.

There are no ‘musts’ in NA, our suggestion is simply to try and have a open mind and look for similarities in the experiences you will hear, for many of us in early days that was hard because we were so used to failure, if people don’t like their first meeting we suggest they try another, no two meetings will ever be the same

NA is not a government or social services body, we are not addiction professionals, nor do we purport to be, we don’t offer counselling, detoxes or advice, NA works simply through members sharing their experience of what has worked for them. Some of our members got clean from drugs simply by attending meetings and finding support and inspiration from other NA member’s experience and encouragement, some came after being introduced to NA in detoxes, rehabs or treatment centres, some came across NA whilst in prison or being required to attend because of a court or probation order. We are not concerned about how or why addicts initially attend NA meetings, in a NA meeting everyone is equal and equally welcome.

Our experience has shown that people willing to attend NA meetings, listen with an open mind and participate in the NA community can stop using drugs and transform their lives. With over 61,000 weekly meetings taking place in 129 countries there are tens of thousands of former using addicts living and enjoying a drug free life with, and as a consequence of, the support offered through participation in NA.

When people stop taking drugs they often feel alone and confused, participation in NA helps to promote a sense of belonging and wellbeing along with filling the social void that is often experienced in getting clean.

Meeting Directories:

There are up to date meeting details at the NA website ukna.org

All meetings are open to those who consider themselves addicts or think they might have a drug problem

Meetings which are marked ‘Open to All’ are for anyone to attend whether they think they have a drug problem or not, Sometimes friends, family members or professionals use these meetings to either bring someone along or find out more about NA